Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Pro-Brexit Think Tank Founder Accused of Working for Russia

The founder of one of the most influential pro-Brexit think tanks was
suspected of working for the Kremlin, a member of Prime Minister Theresa
May’s Conservative Party said.

[New Zealand-born billionaire] Christopher
Chandler, chairman of investment group Legatum Global Holdings Ltd, has
been an “object of interest” to French intelligence since 2002, “on
suspicion of working for Russian intelligence services,” according to
Bob Seely, a Conservative lawmaker who cited 2005 files of the Direction
de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST).

The accusation, which is denied, is significant because Chandler has
used some of his wealth to found the Legatum Institute, which has worked
with those in May’s Conservative Party who want a harder break from the
European Union. Until recently its director of economic policy was
Shanker Singham, who argued that Britain’s interests would be best
served by leaving the EU’s customs union. The institute’s “senior
fellows” include Matthew Elliott, who ran the campaign for Brexit.

The London-based Legatum Institute was founded in 2007 by the Legatum Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum Group.

Legatum was not
always well disposed towards Brexit. Before the June 2016 referendum, it widely
seen as a liberal, pro-EU outfit. Among those employed from its Mayfair offices
were US author [and Washington Post columnist] Anne Applebaum and Soviet-born British journalist Peter
Pomerantsev.

That changed in the
wake of Brexit. Applebaum left after Philippa Stroud was appointed as CEO, in
September 2016. The eurosceptic Baroness Stroud co-founded the Centre for
Social Justice think-tank and was a special adviser to Brexiteer Iain Duncan
Smith.

In March, the think tank parted ways with Shanker Singham, a high-profile advocate of a "hard" Brexit, whose access to cabinet ministers such as Boris Johnson and Liam Fox led to a wave of negative publicity for Legatum.

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